The latest on California politics and government

July 7, 2011

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez has asked the chairman of the Latino Legislative Caucus to hold a meeting to "address the disclosure of donors, as well as broader governance issues" in the wake of questions surrounding contributions to the group's nonprofit foundation.

In a letter dated today to Democratic Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, who chairs the 23-member caucus, Pérez wrote that he is "deeply concerned" about the lack of transparency regarding donors to the Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation. As The Bee reported last week, the foundation -- which is not required by law to report contributors -- stopped the practice of disclosing its donors two years ago.

Mendoza released a partial list of large donors today, after issuing a statement Wednesday to respond to criticism that did not include the contributors. The speaker wrote in the letter that the initial statement "did nothing to address my concerns," indicating that he had reached an understanding with the group Wednesday that members would promptly move forward with disclosure.

In response to the list of seven contributors released today, Pérez spokeswoman Robin Swanson said the speaker is still asking Mendoza to report the remaining donors from 2009 and 2010 and to set up a formal policy and process for continuing disclosure.